Life at Capsule Corp
by Dr Spleenmeister
Summary: Standard Vegeta Bulma get together that every DBZ author must have! Vegeta lives with Bulma, and things start to take shape...
1. Poorly sick

Life at Capsule Corp.

Yes people, this is your bog-standard Bulma, Vegeta get together, but I've thrown in a little angst (just a pinch!) to make it a bit more interesting. Vegeta may be a little OOC, but who cares? It only makes him more fun! ^.^

Enjoy!

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Chapter 1

"Ah…ah…aaaaaa-_CHOO!!_ " Bulma wiped at her streaming nose with a soggy handkerchief. Kami knew where the hell she caught this bug from; normally she wouldn't allow a little thing like influenza stop her from working, but this strain was proving to be particularly debilitating.

She was sitting at her workshop bench, soldering circuit boards for a new training bot for Vegeta. However, with every few touches of the soldering iron, she'd sneeze and end up covering her work in snot.

"Doh, dat's id. I give up." Rubbing her eyes, she got up and went in search of a hot lemon drink to clear her head. When she got to the kitchen she found Vegeta sitting at the table and hidden behind a small tower of sandwiches.

"*snff snff* ohhh…I deed my dose pumping."

The tip of dark hair visible over the breaded mound shifted, and Vegeta's face appeared around one side as he peered at her, cheeks puffed out with food,

"Off wong iff oo?"

She snuffled mightily, the goop gurgling in her nasal cavity,

"I'b idfected."

Vegeta started as she blew her nose, a loud wet sound. He swallowed before speaking again, 

"Then cure yourself." He smirked, "You always claim to be a genius."

Bulma glowered at him while she flicked the kettle on,

"In _electronics_, not medicine. There _is_ no cure for flu, just lots of rest and fluids," she fluttered her eyelashes coyly at him, "And affection."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow before retreating out of sight and reaching for another sandwich. Bulma smiled as she prepared her soothing drink; yeah right, Vegeta show affection to anyone, now _that_ made her smile.

***

"Stupid generator."

Vegeta walked into the house, a white, damp towel draping limply around his neck.

"Can't stand the weakest of attacks any more."

He wiped the light sheen of sweat from his brow,

"She needs to upgrade that piece of crap."

Grabbing an orange on his way through the kitchen, he headed to Bulma's workshop.

Entering the dimly lit work-room, the sight that greeted him caused him to drop the fruit he was peeling and dash to the large bench in the middle of the room; Bulma was laying face down on the floor beside it. She'd clearly fallen from the high stool that was now lying on it's side and she was unconscious. Vegeta shook her gently,

"Woman? Woman! Bulma!" 

No answer. Rolling her onto her back, he leaned down so his cheek was inches from her mouth. He relaxed as he felt her breath on his face; it was probably just this strange human virus that had made her pass out.

Lifting her into his arms, he exited the basement and carried her back up into the house. Silently gliding up the stairs - it was late and he didn't want to wake her parents; her mother's high-pitched fussing was hard enough to endure during the day, let alone when he was ready to sleep - he took her to her room and lay her on the bed.

She moaned as she drifted back to consciousness and opened her eyes to find Vegeta holding out a glass of water.

"Drink this."

She rubbed at her head, "What happened? How did I get here?" and tried to push away the glass.

"I brought you. I was coming to demand upgrades for that lousy excuse for a training center when I found you on the floor of your work room. It would appear that your weak human body crumpled under the strain of a little virus."

Too weak to retort, Bulma woosily sat upright and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. While Vegeta turned away to replace the glass on the nightstand, Bulma stood up and swayed a little, feeling the colour drain from her face. Vegeta turned back to her and quickly grabbed her arm as her knees gave.

"Steady! Kami, you're as white as a sheet."

She bit her lip and closed her eyes, "I'll be alright in a-"

"No you won't. Sit down."

She flopped back down on the soft mattress and allowed him to push her down into a laying position. He bent to remove her boots and pulled the covers over her.

"Sleep."

He moved to the door, and was about to turn out the light when she whimpered his name. He turned back to find her staring at him, tears in her eyes and her teeth chattering.

"P-please don't leave me alone."

He scowled, "Woman, I'm tired, you're ill, we both need sleep and we'd only keep each other awake."

A fat tear escaped and rolled across her cheek to be absorbed by her pillow. With a resigned sigh and a roll of his eyes, Vegeta came back into the room.

Stripping off his boots, gloves and sweaty shirt, he slipped under the covers and curled up at the edge of the bed with his back to her. He felt the bed shift as she moved and jumped as her arm snaked over his middle. Pulling herself closer, she spooned up behind him, fitting her shivering body to his stiff, shocked one.

She felt so shitty, tonight was not a time for arguments; she just wanted the feeling that she wasn't alone, and to be comforted. Maybe that was too much to hope for with Vegeta, but it couldn't hurt to try and force at least a bit of compassion from the cold prince.

As she cuddled his tense frame, she gradually felt him relax and shift so he fitted more comfortably to her. Burying her drowsy face into the back of his neck, she was lulled to sleep by his soft, almost inaudible purrs.

------------------------------

Doc: Ahh, see, Vegeta? You _can_ be nice.

Vegeta: *arms crossed, scowling, trying to look menacing, managing only to look like an angry chibi* Piss off.

Doc: CHIIIBIIIIIII!!!!!!! *chases Vegeta*

Vegeta: ACK! Get away from me you freak! *Runs away*


	2. The morning after?

Jess 1182003 and WindPrincess1, thanks for reviewing!

If you want to be notified of my next update for this, or any of my other stories, send me an email entitled 'mailing list' to: dr_spleenmeister@yahoo.co.uk

Life at Capsule Corp

Chapter 2

Bulma woke the next morning disoriented; although her head felt clearer than it had done since she'd caught this virus, her memory of the previous night was cloudy.  She remembered working in her lab and vaguely remembered Vegeta being in her room.

Rubbing her eyes, she went to sit up when something warm and furry draped itself over her waist.  Biting back the urge to scream, she looked down and immediately recognised the soft appendage.  Along with the recognition came the flood of last night's memories.

A pleased little smile crept across her face, and she slowly turned to face him, to watch him as he slept.  In sleep, all lines were smoothed from his face, and the ever-present scowl was absent.

As she watched him breathing softly, she considered their current situation.

Their relationship has always been a tense one, poised on the brink of self-destruction ever since they'd first met.  She wouldn't class them as friends as they barely spoke and weren't even vaguely close, but every now and then they would click.  She admired his dedication to his craft and he in turn respected her for being able to keep up with him and his destructive nature; every time he smashed up a training robot, she'd have another improved one waiting.  The initial uncomfortable silences that had pervaded when they had first met and tried to converse had vanished, and they were now able to sit in the same room in complete silence and feel absolutely comfortable with one another's presence.

It was just a shame that his quiet acceptance of her hadn't spread to the rest of the Z-team.  He still seemed to hate everyone, Goku especially, and refused to show even a glimmer of pleasantry to anyone – her included – outside of the Briefs' household.  So, when she had mentioned to Chichi about a time when he had helped her with some maintenance around the house, Chichi hadn't believed her.

In fact recently, now that she had a moment to think about it, they had been growing closer, but in such a subtle way and so gradually that she hadn't noticed.  She had found herself giving him more than just the quick occasional glance, and had often turned to say something to him only to find him already looking at her.  And now he had gone out of his way to comfort her when she needed it.  It seemed that what they said might actually be true; that in every strong man, there is a gentle side.

And now he was asleep in her bed, his tail wrapped around her, slowly tightening its grip as he drifted back to the waking world.  Opening his sleepy eyes and yawning, he put his arm around her and pulled her to him, still half asleep, snuggling his face into the crook of her neck.

"That's better," he murmered drowsily, "much more comfortable."

He lay like that for a moment or two longer, longer than a joke would dictate.

He sighed.

"I shouldn't be here."

Bulma was in no rush to chivvy this suddenly, and surprisingly cuddly oversized teddy bear from her bed, but sighed nonetheless.

"No."

"I should go."

His tail wrapped more tightly around her.  Curiosity taking her, Bulma lightly stroked it, urging a low purr from his relaxed body.

"Yes."

"After all…my body can't train itself."

Bulma pulled her head back, and looked him in the eye, a smile lighting her own. She planted a quick kiss – oddly, it felt right to do it – on his forehead, before rolling him towards the edge of the mattress.

"Thank you for staying with me last night, but you need to train!"

She stopped pushing him as he'd fall out of the bed if she rolled him any further.  He sat up and, throwing the covers back, stood and grabbed his garments.

He looked down at her with an unreadable expression,

"I am glad you are feeling better. Rest well."

Without another word, he left.

**

Vegeta sat cross-legged in the middle of the gravity room, his eyes closed, trying to meditate.  Trying being the operative word; it was much later than he'd thought as he left the woman's room so he'd come straight out here without going to his room to shower and change.  It didn't matter if he reeked, no-one could smell him in here.

A faint scowl drew his eyebrows together as another whiff of her scent reached his nose; he fair stank of her, he couldn't concentrate like this.

With an irritated sound, he rose to his feet and headed to the pod's small living quarters to bathe.

**

Bulma was feeling much better.  After a few days bed rest, she had felt human enough to get up.  However, she didn't feel well enough to go back to work just yet so she was sitting in the living room with a book while her mother devoured a small heap of cream cakes.  

Her father shuffled into the room, yawning and stretching the kinks out of his back.  Even the cat on his shoulder looked tired.

"Oh deary me, Vegeta's getting through more robots than underpants these days."

Bulma felt a surge of guilt; she was normally the one that dealt with any Vegeta-inflicted damages and repairs, but while she'd been out of commission, Dr Briefs had taken over.  She vowed to get back to work first thing in the morning.

"Feeling better, Bulma dear?"

She smiled up at the dotty old man,

"Yes thanks.  Look, Dad, I-"

She didn't get a chance to finish her apology as the house started shaking and a loud explosion rocked it violently.  Instantly knowing who was responsible for the mini-quake, Bulma jumped up to look out of the window and gasped in surprise.

What was left of Vegeta's gravity pod was lying on its side, the ceiling blown clear off and smoke was puthering from the gaping hole.  Rubble littered the lawn and there was no sign of Vegeta.

Dashing out the room and pelting down the stairs, Bulma's heart beat wildly in panic.  She threw open the back door and raced over to the pod, yelling Vegeta's name.  Stopping at the edge of the devastation, she glanced quickly around; there was no sign of movement.  Quickly dropping to her knees, she lifted chunks of rubble aside, trying to find him.  Snatching her hand back as she burnt it on a red hot, twisted piece of metal, she stopped, hoping against all the evidence to the contrary that he was okay.

A bloody hand suddenly shot up through the rubbish, startling her enough for her to fall back.  As the owner of the hand pulled himself free of the wreckage, Bulma breathed a sigh of relief,

"Vegeta! Are you alright?"

He stood on shaky legs and smirked unsteadily at her,

"Heh, of course I am." And promptly passed out, crashing backwards onto the junk pile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vegeta: *scowling* I don't like the way you're painting me, woman.

Doc: *Putting down paintbrush* Sorry?

Vegeta: ACK! *facevaults*

Doc: heh heh, oops…

Like I said at the top of the page, I'm going to start a mailing list, so if you would like to be included, drop me a line!

Dr_spleenmeister@yahoo.co.uk


	3. Aftermath

Life at Capsule Corp

Chapter 3

"Will he be okay, Honey?" Mrs Briefs chewed nervously on a fingernail.

Dr Briefs stepped back from the bed. Between Bulma and himself, they had managed to carry the heavy Saiyajin to the on-site medical centre.

"I think so, he's a very resilient young man, but he's still going to need rest."

He was more shaken by Vegeta's state than he was willing to let on; the young warrior had always seemed invincible to the old man, so seeing him so weakened like this was more than a little unnerving. Noticing the women's concern growing rapidly into fear, the doctor tried to lighten the situation,

"Yes he'll be fine. You know I think the only thing he didn't bruise was his eyebrows."

Putting an arm around his tearful wife's shoulders, he led her from the room, knowing that their daughter would want a moment alone with the unconscious man.

Bulma stood at Vegeta's bedside, watching him as he slept, remembering how she had watched him a few days prior. She turned to leave when he suddenly spoke,

"Ka…karrot…"

She turned back, half expecting to see him sitting up and raring to go; but no, he was still unconscious and talking in his sleep.

"I'll get stronger, Kakarrot…I'll…beat you…"

Moving back to the bed, she felt his forehead; he was feverish, hence the dreaming. Unwilling to leave him alone in this state, she sat at the small desk beside the bed and slid her slippers off. After all, he had stayed with her when she had been ill.

Yawning, she put her head on her arms and joined Vegeta in the world of dreams.

_The courtesan sighed with pleasure as the prince moved over her, no-one could make her feel the way he did in the bedroom and while she was assigned to pleasure him, she would do her utmost to make him feel the same about her._

_He whimpered as he penetrated her, the intense feeling leaving him gasping for breath,_

_"I didn't think…that…courtesans could be…ahhh…this tight."_

_She squeezed her inner walls around his shaft, causing him to cry out meekly._

_"Well, Sire…when I came into…the Royal house's employ…I was only ever intended…for you-"_

_She broke off with a cry of her own as he pushed as deep as he could and slowly drew out again,_

_"And besides…I didn't think that…you had to be gentle."_

_"I don't," he buried his face in her neck, seeking closer contact, "but with you, you're so…uuhhh…responsive…that I enjoy making**. You. Squeal**."_

_He punctuated his last two words with a snap of his hips, slamming their bodies together and making her cry out again._

_As she felt the warning tickle of impending release, her fingers dug into his finely muscled shoulders and her hips humped wildly against his._

_Moaning his achievement, he assented to her unspoken plea and pistoned in and out of her, racing her to climax and when she peaked, clutching wildly at him and screaming his name, he spilled inside her, biting down on her shoulder as he did so._

Vegeta jolted awake, mercifully awoken from the nightmare he was having. Sensing another presence in the room, he snapped his head around – instantly wincing at the sudden movement to his damaged neck – to see Bulma asleep at the table by the bed.

As much as he hated to admit it, he was touched; she'd returned the favour and stayed with him as he had her. Sliding silently from the bed so as not to wake her, he moved past her to exit the small room when a sweet, musky scent caught his attention.

Sniffing, he realised it was coming from the sleeping woman. Taking a wary step closer, he smelled her again and felt a sudden and simultaneous dilating of his eyes and involuntary tightening between his legs.

She was aroused and the scent she was giving off called directly to the most animal part of him. He had to fight with himself not to wake her up and throw her onto the still warm bed.

Taking a step back as she stirred, he was surprised to hear her murmur his name,

"Mmm, Vegeta…yes…Sire…touch…mmm…"

His eyes widened as he realised she was getting all hot and bothered over a dream involving him.

He smirked as he turned to limp out the door; how interesting.

* * *

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Vegeta- ::scowling threateningly at the readers:: You'd _better_ review; I'm not letting this ningen do stupid things with me for nothing!!!!!

Doc- ::wounded:: Hey!…I'm not a ningen…you arsehole.

Next time: Bulma pisses Vegeta off…AGAIN, and oh, oh! What's this I see on my page?......you'll just have to come back for more to find out!!

_MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!_


	4. Back to bed with you!

Life at Capsule Corp

Chapter 4

Bulma awoke alone. Stretching to get the kinks out of her back, she silently cursed the absent Saiyajin; she knew exactly where he'd gone. Storming out to the new gravity room, she shut down the power from outside and was rewarded by an outraged yell from inside,

"WOOOO-MAAAAAANNN!!!!!"

Bulma giggled, yelled back, "Well you should have stayed in bed!" locked off the power so he couldn't reboot the system and ran back to the house before he could come out and beat her to a pulp.

Hurtling into the living room and grabbing the book she'd discarded the day before, she threw herself into a chair and settled down innocently just in time.

Vegeta slammed into the room, bandages dangling comically from his bruised body and stomped over to Bulma. Stopping directly in front of her, he put his hands on his hips.

Without looking up, Bulma turned a page in her book,

"Can I help you?"

"What did you do that for?"

"Do what?" she turned another page;

"Turn off the power."

"What power?" she licked her thumb.

Vegeta balled his fists at his sides and fought to keep the volume of his voice under control.

"The power to the gravity room." Ho spoke through gritted teeth.

Still not looking up, Bulma turned another page,

"Don't know what you're talking about."

With an angry growl, Vegeta snatched the book from her hands and bent down to thrust his face in hers,

"YOU'RE INFURIATING!"

Bulma looked blankly up at him,

"And you're hurt and need to rest."

Clenching his jaw in anger, he barred his teeth,

"I'm. Fine."

Bulma slowly extended a finger and poked him firmly in a broken rib. With a weak cry, he crumpled in pain and fell to his knees before her.

"See?"

Vegeta panted through the pain,

"I'm…huh…fine. It's just…huh…a flesh wound."

She leaned over again and pressed two fingers into his shoulder. This time he fell back with a louder cry and lay sprawled on the carpet. Bulma got up, moved around and knelt beside him, before speaking softly,

"_Now_ do you see?"

Vegeta's face was screwed up in pain,

"O-okay…you win."

She smiled,

"This isn't a competition, Vegeta. I don't have the regen chamber design finalised yet so until I do, you need to rest when you mess yourself up."

He managed a weak smile and tried to push himself up into a seated position. When his arm gave and he fell back, Bulma slipped her arm beneath his shoulders to help.

Working to get him upright brought their heads very close together, and when he tilted sideways to get better leverage, their lips accidentally brushed.

Two sets of eyes widened in surprise as they stared at each other in shock. Bulma unconsciously went to lick her lips and ended up running her tongue along his, making him gasp in surprise.

Mistaking his gasp for a sigh, Bulma – after a moments hesitation – gently pressed her lips to his. Vegeta responded to the tentative touch with a real sigh, but just as his eyes started to drift shut, he caught himself and shoved her rudely off him before snapping,

"I'm fine, I'll do it myself."

Bulma sat back on her heels, blushing furiously and watched as he struggled to his feet.

"Vegeta, I –"

"Forget it," he growled, fire in his eyes.

How dare she? How dare she presume? Had she forgotten who he was? He tried to march from the room but could only manage a feeble limp, throwing back over his shoulder,

"Finish the tank unless you want to be blown up by the androids."

After he'd gone, Bulma sat where she was for a moment. What had all that been about? She shook her head as she got to her feet; men on their own were weird, Saiyajin men were just plain odd.

* * *

GOTTA TELL YA, I'M HAVING TONS OF FUN WITH THIS STORY, IT'S DEFINITELY MY FAVOURITE YET.

I HOPE YOU'RE ENJOYING IT AS MUCH AS I AM!!!

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Thanks for reading xx


	5. The healing process

Vegeta seethed as he limped into his room. The woman was right, he thought as he collapsed into bed, he did need rest, and returning to his normal training levels straight away was quite possibly the stupidest thing he'd ever done. However, his poor judgement was not what was making him angry; nor was it that she'd interrupted his training and practically forced him to rest – an action he was actually quietly thankful for. It wasn't even the fact that she'd kissed him; no, it was the fact that he'd enjoyed it and was for that fraction of a second willing to submit to it and allow it to take them…somewhere.

He rubbed a weary hand over his face and winced as he pressed too hard on a bruised cheekbone. He was becoming rather attracted to this loud-mouthed Earthling and he didn't have a clue why. She was loud, rude, opinionated, annoying, self absorbed and spoilt; he smirked, she was almost a female version of him.

Rolling over onto his good arm, he yawned and quickly fell asleep, unaware that sleep wouldn't get him away from her.

A week later and Vegeta was sitting in the yard watching Goku run rapidly through a set of katas. Chichi had literally chained Gohan to his desk so his father couldn't distract him from his studies any longer; so Goku had come over to visit Bulma and see how Vegeta was recovering.

As for Vegeta himself, contrary to his calm exterior, he had ants in his pants. Bulma had forbidden him from doing any form of training until he was completely healed and just to be on the safe side, she'd cut the power line to the G.R.; but watching Goku incorrectly punching and kicking at nothing was driving the impatient prince crazy.

"No, Kakarrot, no, stop, stop!" Vegeta got up and walked over to Goku – who had frozen comically mid-punch – with just a hint of a limp. "Your form is all wrong." He reached out to re-position Goku's arm, "There; now try."

Goku completed the move he'd started and then straightened with a grin, "Hey thanks, Vegeta! That's much better."

The Saiyajin prince smirked and returned to his seat to continue his assessment of his nemesis. Kakarrot was insanely strong, but having never had the benefit of correct Saiyajin instruction at least a third of his power was going to waste. Old man Roshi and King Kai had done a decent job with the man, but they weren't Saiyajins. Only a Saiyajin ki master could correctly harness the ridiculous amounts of power that a full-blooded Saiyajin warrior could wield, but there hadn't been one of those since the planet Vegeta had been destroyed. After thinking for a moment, Vegeta frowned, even without 'proper' instruction this fool had managed to become a Super Saiyajin before he – who had received at least a little Saiyajin instruction – had been able to. He allowed himself a moment of grudging respect before smirking; maybe the old Saiyajin ways weren't all that great; maybe it was time to try something new. His thoughts tripped back to the previous night's rather erotic dreams and he blushed faintly; maybe he should start to reconsider his prejudice toward human females too.

He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice Bulma standing in front of him, trying to get his attention, "Hellooo, Earth to Vegeta." She frowned; nothing. Cautiously reaching forward – he was nearly healed, he could break her arm with a thought now – she poked him.

The musing Saiyajin jerked in surprise, looked up to see what had disturbed him and blushed violently as he realised who it was. Bulma, mistaking his pink embarrassment as fever, placed a cool palm against his forehead,

"Goodness, Vegeta, you're burning hot!"

Vegeta scowled in irritation, any lingering arousal from his flashback disappearing as quickly as his patience with this stupid human; wasn't she even aware of the effect she was starting to have on him?

"I'm fine." He swatted her hand away and stood up to tower over her.

"Okay, okay, no need to snap," she smiled up at him, "I was just going to go for a swim and wondered if you'd like to join me; it's supposed to be good for someone recovering from injuries like yours."

Vegeta was sorely tempted to take her up on her offer; his hentai mind had already pictured her in a teeny weeny bikini, but he was very aware of the fact that Goku had stopped what he was doing in order to eavesdrop on them, so instead he sneered, "Sorry, but the thought of you in a swim suit turns my stomach."

Bulma blushed in embarrassment and her eyes teared. Instantly regretting the harsh words, he could do nothing but watch as she quickly turned and walked away without a word.

"That was a bit mean, Vegeta." Kakarrot had resumed his exercises.

Flopping down into his seat and wincing at the impact on his still-bruised hip, Vegeta groused half-heartedly back, "Yeah well she deserves it."

"No she doesn't."

Vegeta stared into the distance, her hurt gaze burned into his memory. "Hn."


	6. Mealtime telepathy

The evening meal was a subdued affair; Bulma was still stinging from Vegeta's unnecessarily harsh words earlier and he hadn't apologised – oblivious to the fact that he was supposed to. After his training under the watchful eye of his prince, Goku had been invited by Mrs. Briefs to stay for dinner; and as Vegeta had regained most of his appetite, the table was heaving under the weight of enough food to feed two fully-grown male Saiyajins.

Goku called to Mrs. Briefs – who couldn't see him over the edible mound, "Hey thanks for inviting me to stay, Mrs. B., I'm starved!" and shoved a huge chunk of meat into his mouth. Bulma's mother giggled, replied that is was quite all right and daintily picked a pastry from the pile.

As the sound of Goku's gobbling and Mr. And Mrs. Briefs' quiet chatter drifted around the room, Vegeta picked at his food; he wasn't very hungry.

_Vegeta, you should talk to her._

Vegeta blinked as Goku's voice filled his head; the other man didn't use telepathy with him that often and it was a pleasant surprise when he did.

You should converse this way more often, Kakarrot. I don't get to talk to many people telepathically, you're one of the few with whom I can.He slinked further into depression as he was reminded yet again that his race was all but gone.

_Don't change the subject, Vegeta. Talk to her._

_Why should I?_

_You upset her this afternoon._

_She's fine._

_No she's not; listen._

Silence apart from Mr. and Mrs. Briefs' idle chatter,

_…_

_She's not talking; you know Bulma, her mouth's always going. She must be really upset._

_Not my problem_. He jammed a bite of sausage into his mouth.

_It is when she won't talk to you._

_I prefer it that way._

There was a pause before, _That's not what you thought last night._

Vegeta blinked, what did he mean by that? _What are you talking about, Kakarrot? _He chewed nervously on a carrot.

_I wasn't going to say anything, but I felt one of your dreams last night._

Vegeta's eyes bulged; surely he meant the one with old man Roshi and Pu'ar learning to waltz. He forced himself to be calm as he sent back, _Really? That's rare._

_That's what I thought, so there has to be some sort of conscious connection with it right?_

How did Kakarrot manage to sound so innocent yet so knowing in a telepathic projection? He sent the gorging man a sideways glance along with, _Which dream did you sense, Kakarrot? _When the tall warrior blushed around a mouthful of rice, Vegeta's heart skipped a beat; oh no, he hadn't seen **that** one?

_Uh…the one where…you…and she…you were…uh…I woke up with a hard-on! Try explaining to your wife that you dreamt you just had sex with one of her closest friends!_

Vegeta flushed with embarrassment, and then smirked as he imagined Chichi throwing Goku out of bed with a raging erection.

_So what's your point?_

_My point is that you must really like her for me to have felt this dream_.

Vegeta scowled in denial, _I don't like her. _And grabbed a chicken drumstick.

Goku frowned as he munched thoughtfully. His sovereign liked his friend and the feeling was clearly mutual – it had to be or she wouldn't have been so insulted by his comment. Bulma would be easy to work on to admit her feelings, but Vegeta was another matter; big puppy dog eyes and coaxing smiles wouldn't work on him, he'd just thump the match-maker. After a moment or twos silent thought, a devious smirk spread across his face, _What, even when…no, never mind._

Vegeta looked at him, he hated it when the taller man started a thought and didn't finish it, _What?_

_No, it doesn't matter._

_What?_

_You wouldn't be interested_.

"KAKARROT, WHAT?!?!" Everyone else stopped eating as Vegeta yelled the first words he'd spoken all night. Ignoring them, he stared at Goku, _What?_

Goku smiled and selected a few choice details from the previous night's dream, _Oh just when you felt her skin, hot and naked next to yours._

Vegeta blushed again as the memory sent a pulse of heat to his groin, _Kakarrot…_he warned dangerously.

_When she was breathing your name against your neck..._

Hurriedly excusing himself, Vegeta stood and quickly turned from the table before any of the others could see his burgeoning erection. Striding from the room, he felt Goku follow him, whispering erotic imagery into his mind. _Feeling her hot and wet and tight around you as you slowly penetrated her…_Stifling a low moan, he hurried to his room. _I felt your body straining against hers…_Breaking into a sweat, he arrived at his room and was just about to reach for the door knob when Goku appeared before him, capturing his wrists and whipping him around to press him against the door. Vegeta's eyes widened in surprise when he felt Goku's erection rub against his own through the fabric of their trousers, "If that dream did this to me, I can only imagine what it's doing to you."

Vegeta flushed violently, allowed himself a second's guilty pleasure at the teasing friction, then shoved Goku off him before turning away, "I can't, I can't let her-"

"Let her what? Be with you? Be there for you when you need someone?" He paused for dramatic effect, "Love you?"

Vegeta looked up sharply at that before lowering his eyes in uncertainty, "I-I just- I can't…"

Seeing his prince's inner conflict, Goku laid a friendly hand on his shoulder, which Vegeta promptly shrugged off, "Just think about it if nothing else." Then the normal goofy expression replaced the concerned, serious one and he put a hand behind his head, "You never know, you could get a fuck buddy out of it!" and walked away laughing at the look of utter mortification that covered the prince's face.

* * *

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Doc xx


	7. Reflections of Vegetasei

_Punch_ "Hey, Bulma, I really like you…"

_Kick_ "Bulma, Hi. Look, I was thinking…"

_Sweep_** "**I sound…"

_Uppercut_ "Like a…"

_Roundhouse _"Ningen!"

Vegeta stopped and picked up his towel. He was finally well enough to train, and not a moment too soon as far as he was concerned. All this inactivity meant that he wasn't going to bed exhausted, and that meant he dreamt; a lot; about Bulma. He kept waking up either humping his mattress or lying in a small pool of sticky fluid and it was driving him crazy. It was embarrassing trying to sneak his soiled sheets into the wash without anyone noticing; he felt like a horny teenager.

It had been a week since the episode with Kakarrot outside his room; every day since had been torture and the dreams were getting worse. He wasn't sure about his own feelings, he didn't know if she felt anything for him, and even if he did like her, his damn pride kept getting in the way.

And there was another thing stopping him from approaching her; on Vegetasei he had free choice of any Saiyajin in court and none would dare refuse him. To be fair, none would want to, most Saiyajin males were very hairy and bulky and looked like they'd been hit in the face a few too many times with the ugly stick. Vegeta's familial line – and Bardock's for that matter – were oddities in comparison: every male member of the two families had exquisitely sculpted features, compact frames, and in the case of the royal line, beautifully deep olive skin. In fact Vegeta suspected that Kakarrot was related to him in a very distant manner, but he wasn't about to tell _him_ that. Back on Vegetasei the Prince would have been a fine catch for any potential mate: he had power, wealth, strength, beauty and elegance on his side; who could say no? The problem was that here, someone _could_ say no, _Bulma_ could say no, he could be rejected and quite frankly he was terrified.

Feeling a sudden flare of ki not his own, Vegeta tensed and dropped into stance just as Goku popped into existence in the middle of the training room.

"Kakarrot! Would you _please_ stop doing that?" He relaxed.

The hand went behind the head, "Ha ha, sorry, Vegeta."

Vegeta straightened with a huff and moved to the computer to turn the gravity off, "What can I do for you, Kakarrot?"

"Did you talk to her yet?"

Vegeta whirled with a noise of frustration to glare at the other man, "Is that all you came her for, to coerce me into knocking you through the wall? Because I assure you, no coercion is required!"

Putting up both hands in surrender, Goku backed away from the rabid prince, "Okay, okay! I'm sorry!" and ran to the house. Vegeta wiped the sweat from his body as he watched the retreating Saiyajin.

His eyes narrowed, the third class was _up_ to something.

* * *

**A/N**

Sorry boys and girls, just a short chappy this time, but worry not, the good stuff happens in the next instalment!

Next time: Goku puts his plan into action and Vegeta gets a nasty shock.

* * *

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Thanks fro reading.


	8. Crossing Wires

**A/N Thanks to lil Mari, Catgirl26, isn't-someone-missing-me and Mrs. Trunks' Mom for the reviews of Ch. 7, Much appreciated, Guys!**

Life at Capsule Corp.

Chapter 8

"BUUUUUUUULMAAAAA! Veggie's being mean to me!"

Bulma smiled and looked up from her work as her oldest friend whined at her, "Don't let _him_ hear you call him that. Just ignore him, Goku, you know what he's like."

Goku plopped down into a seat across the workbench from her, picked up a HoiPoi capsule, and started fiddling with it, "What's this one do?"

Reaching over, Bulma plucked the capsule from his inquisitive fingers before he could pop it and explode her small workroom, "This one is Vegeta's new training room for when he either out-grows that one," she flicked her thumb over her shoulder, "or blows it up." She raised an eyebrow, "That should be any day now." She resumed her work, head bent over a set if plans.

Idly playing with an empty capsule, the scheming Saiyajin asked, "Which would you rather he do?"

Bulma peeked up, raised her eyebrow again and looked back down before replying, "It's more fun when he blows it up."

"But?"

"But then I have to look after him while he recovers, and until he can train again he follows me around the house, criticizing me and everything I do."

"First sign of love."

Bulma snorted, "Yeah, okay; if you say so."

Goku bounced to his feet, "Glad you agree with me! See you later!" and strolled from the room, leaving Bulma rather confused. Standing up, she stretched and allowed herself a moments reflection. Vegeta had been acting strangely all week and she didn't think for one minute that it had anything to do with him upsetting her; no, it had to be pretty serious to be affecting the grouchy Saiyajin the way it was. He was off his food, she often heard him wandering through the house in the middle of the night, he'd barely spoken two words to her and he kept slamming angrily into the house after his teaining, muttering something about purple super clowns, having failed yet again to attain his transformation.

Yesterday she'd quite literally bumped into him as he stomped into the house after a particularly long winded training session. He'd grabbed her upper arms to keep her from falling and she'd stumbled against him. Pressed tightly to his body, she'd felt the heat he was giving off from his workout, his pulse, strong and rhythmic and just a little bit quicker than normal, and oddly, she had felt him tremble slightly. Looking up at him curiously and half hoping he'd finally speak to her again; she was surprised at what she'd seen.

She sat back down and returned to work as she replayed in her mind what had happened next.

His eyes had been wide, brows slightly raised and his mouth was twitching ever so slightly as if he wanted to say something. She'd stood held close to him for slightly longer than was necessary, waiting to see if he would speak. What she hadn't expected him to do was visibly swallow and slowly lean down as if to kiss her. Surprised, she hadn't moved, and when his lips touched hers lightly, hesitantly, she didn't respond, shock freezing her. He'd pulled away and let her go with a snarl, "Watch where you're going, Woman." Then stormed off down the hall, back the way he'd come.

As the reality of what had happened had sunk in, she'd touched her lips and considered going after him, but cut that impulse short as she'd registered the look of rage on his face at her apparent refusal of his advance.

Throwing down her soldering iron, she cursed quietly as she realized how long she'd been musing and stretched the kinks out of her back. Looking at the clock she cursed again; she'd missed dinner. Getting up and turning off the light, she headed to the kitchen to grab a snack before she took a bath.

Rubbing at her strained eyes, Bulma sagged wearily against the fridge as she peered inside; empty. Clucking her tongue in frustration and rubbing her tummy as it grumbled its need at her, she tried the larder; empty. Scowling, she checked the freezer; empty.

"VEGETAAAAA!"

Furious, she raced up to his bedroom and slammed the door open without knocking. Opening her mouth to begin the yelling as she entered, the words died on her lips at the sight that greeted her.

Her already open mouth hung slack and her eyes bulged as she stared at the room's occupant.

"Bu-Bulma!" Vegeta quickly grabbed a sheet to cover himself, so flustered at her abrupt entrance that he'd forgotten to snap at her. He blushed a furiously un-regal shade of red as he tried to cover as much of himself as possible with the fabric he'd snatched.

"Veh…Veh…I…oh my." Bulma's eyes danced over the bits of him still visible. As she devoured him with her eyes, a part of her sank as she belatedly noticed that he was being extremely coy. Shed known him to stride around the house in nothing but a pair of sneakers and skin tight shorts that left nothing to the imagination, and she couldn't deny that she'd gotten rather hot and flustered a couple of nights, thinking about how he'd look without them. Well now she knew and she liked what she saw; what she didn't like was the effort he was going to in an attempt to hide himself from her. She knew she'd hurt him the previous night, but this behaviour was not like him at all; just how much _had _she hurt him?

Stepping closer, she reached out and gently grasped one of his wrists, pulling his hand away from his body. He turned his head away in shame as she took the other, not resisting as she made him let go of the sheet he had wrapped tightly around himself.

As the fabric hissed to the floor and Vegeta was left naked to her view, Bulma's fingers tightened involuntarily around his wrists. He muttered almost too low for her to hear, "Sorry…"

She whispered, afraid that if she spoke too loudly he'd bolt, "What for?"

He squeezed his eyes shut, "For being so…ugly…"

Bulma was so surprised that she almost fell over, "Vegeta, no. You're…" She ran a hand gently up one of his arms to touch his face, "You're beautiful."

He looked like a frightened child as he slowly raised his eyes to hers. Bulma wanted to cry; he looked broken. She rarely seen any emotion from him except anger, so seeing him like this, so fragile, was the most surreal thing. Seeing his brows twitch with some sort of internal battle, she did what weirdly felt like the most natural thing in the world; she stepped closer and slipped her arms around his naked neck, pulling him down into a comforting embrace.

After a moments surprised hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her back and waist and buried his face in her hair, pulling her closer.

They stayed that way for what felt like hours, until,

"Uh, Vegeta? What's that?"

He frowned into her hair, "What's what?"

She wiggled her hips against his, "That." Vegeta's heart froze in his chest, no, not now, _please not now_. He pulled away and turned his back to her, hoping against hope that she hadn't noticed. He bent down to retrieve his sheet, "Nothing.", and wrapped it around his waist.

"Vegeta? What's the matt – oh!" She brought her fingers to her lips in surprise as she realized what had just happened. He bowed his head, muttering so she could barely hear,

"Let me go."

She frowned, puzzled, "What? You want to leave? Aren't you comfortable here?"

Expecting him to turn and yell at her, she was surprised when he sighed and his shoulders sagged, "If you don't know what's happening, how could you possibly understand?2

Now she was really confused, "Vegeta, what are you – " she broke off as he spoke again, seemingly to himself,

"This wasn't supposed to happen. I'm supposed to be the strongest in the universe, I should be able to resist anything."

"Vegeta, you're not making any sense."

"No, I don't imagine I am." He picked up his clothes and walked past her, head bowed, heading for the bathroom.

* * *

**A/N **Next time: Bulma confides in Chichi, and Goku harasses Vegeta some more

**Want to be added to the mailing list for new fic and updates? Leave a note in your review or drop me a line!**


	9. Broken noses and nosey wives

**A/N **Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far!

* * *

"I'm really confused, Chi." Bulma sighed for what felt like the eleventh time as she pressed the phone to her ear. On the other end Chichi was trying to chat but kept getting distracted.

"Really? Why's that? _Gohan!_ Where do you think _you're_ going?"

"Well there's this guy…"

"Ooo, a guy? What guy? Do I know him?" Chichi's carnal desire for gossip temporarily overrode her need for supreme parental control. Bulma smiled down the phone,

"Yes, you know him, but I'm not going to tell you who he is."

"Oh but why?" Chichi fairly whined at her friend, "I won't tell – _Gohan get back here right now! _Honest I won't."

Bulma could imagine the rabid parent drooling at the opportunity to 'accidentally' flap her mouth to the rest of the senshi, "Nice try, Chichi, but no. Anyway, this guy; he's a little hard to approach at the best of times (_if at all_, she thought to herself), but recently he's gotten so distant. He won't even talk to me anymore."

"_Don't you give me that face, Mister; you have your future to think of. _Make him talk to you – corner him; that's what I did. Is he cute?"

Bulma laughed lightly, "I hadn't really thought about it until the other day, but yes; he's very handsome, very…regal." Oops! She clamped a hand over her mouth. There was silence on the other end of the line and Bulma chewed nervously on her lip, afraid that her slip had given Chichi the clue she needed to work out that the Saiyajin Prince was the one she was currently fixated with. After a long pause, Chichi spoke,

"Sorry about that, Bulma; I had to go tie Gohan to his desk. What did you say?"

Bulma breathed a silent sigh of relief, "I said yes, he is cute."

"_Icarus! Get away from that door! It's locked for a reason; do you know what that reason is? No? It's to keep **you **out so you CAN'T DISTRACT GOHAN!_ Then go for it. Personally I think it's Yamcha, but he's not hard to approach is he?"

She smiled down the phone, satisfied that her secret was safe – at least for the moment. "No he's not. Thanks, Chichi."

* * *

"Hey, Vegeta," **block** "I never had you pegged," **sweep** as a coward." **Block, block, block, block, _crunch_**

Vegeta jumped back from his opponent who staggered a little, clutching a broken nose. He growled in irritation, "What are you blithering on about, Kakarrot?"

"Yu sdill haved dold er ave u?"

Fighting back the flush that threatened to stain his cheeks, Vegeta relaxed from his beat-seven-shades-of-shit-out-of-Kakarrot stance and folded his arms firmly across his chest, smirking as the taller man tried to staunch the flow of blood, "No. I haven't told her. That doesn't make me a coward."

Giving up trying to clean himself with his hands alone, Goku motioned for his prince to follow him to the small, ravaged first aid box by the door to the gravity unit. He spoke as he crammed gauze up his nose, "Baybe dot, bud id doesn'd bake you very brave does id?"

Vegeta harrumphed and turned away, unable to believe he was actually talking to his arch-nemesis about this. He let his eyes wander as he stared at nothing, "I almost did."

Goku paused in his cramming, "Almost?"

The shorter man grumbled to himself for a moment before speaking, "I didn't want to …but…she caught me off guard…"

"You almost talked to her because she caught you off guard?" Goku's disbelieving, mocking tone grated across Vegeta's nerves and he whirled, exasperated,

"Look, she caught me in a moment of vulnerability okay?" He re-crossed his arms and looked away as Goku's jaw hit the training room floor.

"You? Vulnerable? Since when?"

Vegeta mumbled, only just loud enough so the other could hear, "I was in the middle of getting changed."

Now Goku was really confused, "Why would that make you vulnerable?"

Vegeta grit his teeth; this was getting very old, very fast, "Because I was embarrassed."

"Of what?"

That was it; the Prince turned and thumped Goku in the nose again. As the taller warrior stumbled to his knees in renewed pain, Vegeta towered over him, "OF HER SEEING ME WITHOUT ANY CLOTHES ON!" then stormed out of the G.R. to train outside.

Five minutes later, and Goku was back for more,

"I still don't get it, why would you be embarrassed of being naked?"

"Go away."

"No, I want to know."

"I don't need to explain myself to you."

"Yeah, but-"

"No."

"Veg-"

"I'm not telling you."

Just as Goku opened his mouth to ask again, it hit him, "Oh my goodness! _You're shy!_"

Vegeta's eye twitched, but he didn't stop his kata, "No I'm not."

"Yes you are! But-" this time he was ready for the fist that swung for him and he caught it, his expression turning serious, "But you don't need to be."

Vegeta looked supremely angry, "Kakarrot…"

"Vegeta, by human standards, hell, by any being's standards, you are practically God-like."

The anger slowly drained from the Prince's face to be replaced with uncertainty.

"I mean look at you; really look. You're gorgeous."

Vegeta flushed and his eyes widened slightly as Goku gently touched his face,

"You're enough to make a guy want to turn." Goku jumped back, laughing, as Vegeta turned a violent shade of puce and lunged for him. "It's just a joke, Vegeta! Although I've seen how the blood lust affects you sometimes!" With a shriek of laughter, he touched his head and vanished as the furious Prince slammed his power up, ready to attack.

Left alone, Vegeta tried to slow his breathing, to calm down from the abrupt embarrassment/anger fuelled, blind power-up. After a few long moments he succeeded and sagged in defeat. He had to try and talk to her again, or his rival would never leave him alone.

* * *

**A/N Next time, the end is nigh! Vegeta gets another nasty shock and Yamcha shows up to mix things up a little.**

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Thanks for reading,

Doc xx


	10. Yamcha sticks his nose in

"Steady…almost…there…" With one last, gentle turn of her miniature wrench, Bulma sat back with a sigh and nearly fell off her chair as a weird, mishapen thing appeared in her line of sight. Pushing her magnifying goggles away from her eyes and up onto her head, she pressed a hand against her chest,

"Jeez, Yamcha, you scared the crap out of me."

A sheepish smile spread itself over the ex-bandit's face, "Heh, sorry, Bulma; old habits."

"She smiled, it's okay, what can I do for you?"

Yamcha expertly sidestepped the question and gestured to the tiny object on her workbench, "What you working on?"

"Oh this?" She wiped her hands on her overalls, "It's something new for Vegeta; hopefully it'll help him achieve his transformation."

Wow, that's pretty cool."

A wry smile quirked the corner of her mouth, "Yeah, but I have ulterior motives; if I can help him transform, he'll stop griping to me about how he can't."

Yamcha's eyes wandered lazily about the lab, "You seem to be doing an awful lot for him these days." He turned to look at her, "Is he grateful?"

The smile slipping from her lips, Bulma frowned; where was he going with this? "I don't know. He seems to be, but he's never thanked me outright, if that's what you mean."

His fingers traced idly along the edge of the workbench towards hers, "You need someone who can appreciate you, Bulma."

Getting to her feet, she edged away from him, "What?" Her frown deepened as he slowly sidled closer.

"**I** can appreciate you, Bulma."

She edged even further away, "Yamcha, I-"

Faster than her eye could follow he was before her, his arms snaking around her waist."

"Bulma, I miss you."

She leaned away, feeling very uncomfortable, "Yamch, we broke up for a good rea-"

"Mmm, Bulma…" then he bent and kissed her.

"Bulma?"

She yanked herself away and out of his grasp as the disbelieving, hurt voice reached her ears. As she turned to find the last person she wanted to see her in this position staring at her with his dark eyes swirling with an uncharacteristic emotion, her hand shot up to cover her mouth. The eyes slid away from her as the owner quickly departed.

"Oh no…Vegeta…"

**

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A/N Cackles maniacally MUAHAHAAA! I'm so mean to the poor boy. Tune in next time for the 2-part finale!**


	11. Finale part 1

Finale, Part 1

She dashed through the house, searching in vain for her volatile housemate, "Vegeta? Vegeta? Damn it, where is he?" She skidded to a halt as understanding hit her, "Oh shit, he wouldn't!" Spinning on her heel, she raced out of the house to the Gravity Room which was whirring to life and vibrating dangerously. Pouncing on the exterior control panel, her eyes widened with shock and panic as she read the four digits glowing red. The mechanised computer voice could be heard thinly through the reinforced steel wall,

_Danger, gravity exceeds human biological tolerances, shutdown in ten seconds._

Vegeta's voice also filtered through the wall as he grunted his command, "Shutdown sequence override, voiceprint code: Vegeta, alpha, alpha, two."

_Confirmed. Shutdown cancelled._

"Shit." Bulma frantically typed, but her keyboard had been locked out. Sweat broke out all over her forehead as the computer spoke again,

_Warning, generator overload._

Red warning lights started blinking on the useless control board. Bulma ran to the door, hefted herself up to the window and screamed through the plexiglass for Vegeta to shut it down. The Prince looked up at her from his cross-legged position on the floor, the simple movement of his head made a thousand times more difficult under the insane amount of pressure in the room.

His eyes met hers, tears streaming unchecked down his cheeks as his body toppled slowly, irresistibly backwards, unable to withstand the immense gravity any longer. He saw her face contort with terror, silently screaming his name as the wall panels started to peel away and ceiling sections crashed down around him.

Bulma jumped down and scrambled away from the G.R. unit as the shaking reached a new level of intensity. Warning klaxons sounded and as she dived behind a rock, a male scream rang out and the pod exploded in a blinding flash of light and a deafening screech of metal being blown apart.

When it had stopped raining debris and the ringing in her ears had subsided a little, Bulma started to hyperventilate, "Oh Gods,Vegeta…" She managed between frantic gasps for air, "Vegeta!" She struggled to her feet and staggered around the rock, praying against the odds that he was alive.

Coming around to face the charred spot where the G.R. had once stood, her mouth made a large 'O' shape, "Vegeta…I…oh…my…shit." And fainted.


	12. Finale part 2

**AN **:Climbs out from under the HUGE heap of reviews:

Blimey! I should post 2-part finales more often if this is the response I get!

Enjoy, and don't be too sad when it's over, as I have a present for you...:smiles enigmatically:

* * *

Finale, Part 2

When Bulma came to, the first thing she registered was a golden light. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, "Uhhh…Am I in the Other World?"

A masculine voice grunted softly in amusement, "If you are, then I don't know what I'm doing here." The gruff yet silken voice sliced through her disorientation and she opened her eyes to be met by a beautiful turquoise gaze,

"Veh-Vegeta!" She threw her arms around him, startling him so much that he fell back from his crouched position over her onto his behind and slipped from his new SSJ form back to normal. He winced as Bulma squeezed his now vulnerable and strained body,

"Yes, Woman, It's me." He croaked around her death-grip. She released him and sat back.

"But I thought you were dead for sure, I…I thought you were trying to kill yourself."

He smirked but his eyes held immeasurable sadness, "For you? Don't flatter yourself." He looked away, unable to hold her gaze through the lie.

"Vegeta…" How to tell him without sounding like a moron? "…Yamcha and I," she watched as his brows pinched and one eye twitched, "we were over a long time ago, and he…well…" he scowled and glared at her, waiting none too patiently for her to finish, "he doesn't seem to be over it."

Vegeta curled his lip, his customary mask sliding effortlessly back into place, "So? What does that have to do with me?" If all else failed, aggression was always his friend, his shield. When her fingers touched his chin to bring his eyes back to hers, he tried to glare at her but found he couldn't and instead a crack appeared in his emotional defensive wall.

"I think you know."

A half hearted snort, "Enlighten me."

Bulma took a few calming breaths, she had to handle this just so. Vegeta's ego was fragile, far from the invincible aura he projected as a kind of shield to everyone else, and if she wasn't careful, she could crush any chance they had of salvaging anything from this mess. "I know you'd never admit this to anyone else, but we have a connection, you and I." He frowned and she hurried on, "When you first came here, you wouldn't speak to anyone other than to order them around." A faint smirk drifted across his face, "But when I started mouthing back at you, I think you saw, I don't know," she waved her hands absently as she sought for the right words, "Uh, a kindred spirit." He raised an eyebrow, "Okay, okay, a soul that echoed yours." She slapped her head at the cheese that was spewing from her mouth, "What I mean is that I wasn't afraid to talk back, I didn't cower before you like everyone else did, like Frieza's minions would cower before him."

He'd stopped frowning now, and was watching her as she explained herself, "And," she leant over and winked, "I'm cute." The flippant comment had the desired effect: a wry smile slowly spread over his lips.

Clambering to her feet, she offered him a hand, which he surprisingly took. He stood, but Bulma didn't relinquish his hand, instead she removed his tattered glove and ran her finger tips over the palm of his hand, surprised at how soft it was. When she raised her eyes to his, she saw the same thing there that had been present just before he'd kissed her before. Steeling herself for a slap in case she'd misjudged, she slowly raised up onto her toes and was tilting her face up to his when she suddenly stopped, snapped her eyes open in realisation and shrieked right in his face,

"OH MY GOD! YOU TRANSFORMED!"

Vegeta stood blinking for a moment while she wooted and hopped around, shocked at her outburst and more importantly, what it had interrupted. She grabbed his arm in excitement, "I have to call Chichi, Goku _has_ to know!" then raced back to the house.

"But…he'll already know…" he spoke to the air. After a moment, the reality of what had nearly just happened sank in and a rarely seen, genuine smile lit his face, "…Bulma."

FIN

**

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****A/N** There you go, how's that for a lovely mushy ending?Muchas graciastoEVERYONE who reviewed, but especially the regular returnees like lil mari, me, fujutsu and of course the fabulous catgirl26, your continued feedback was much valued, and if you didn't review? Well go and do it now! I have a sequel I might just post if enough people tell me what they thought! 

As always, should you wish to be added to my mailing list for updates and new fic, just leave me a note in your review or drop me a line.

Thanks for reading

Doc xx


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